The Full Moon Approaches
by XBlueWrenX
Summary: Liam is struggling to keep control of his wolf as another supermoon approaches. After what happened last time, he doesn't want to be anywhere near his friends for fear that he will try to hurt them again. But the pack won't let him get away so easily.


_Happy New Year everyone! This one-shot is about January's Wolf Moon which happens to be tonight on New Years. I'm uploading a bit late but I'm proud of what I managed to complete in only a couple of days. It's also a supermoon tonight so I thought I'd write about that too. I hope I wrote everyone in character, but if I've written something wrong then feel free to tell me. Constructive criticism is more than welcome here. Pairings are up to you in this story. Enjoy!_

Disclaimer: the characters and settings belong to the lovely people who created Teen Wolf, but the storyline is original.

* * *

Liam could feel the pull of the moon. It was a feeling he would never forget. The power and the strength that emanated from the white light was overwhelming, especially with it being a supermoon. He was back on the roof, the wind biting at his bare arms, but he didn't notice. He saw red. He saw Scott. And he wanted to kill him. It was like he was out of control of his own body. He could tell he was wolfed out. He could hear his breaths, loud growls, ringing in his ears. He advanced on Scott, who he could see was weak, human, but he couldn't stop himself. His anger and adrenaline lit up his insides like a fire that was only growing stronger. The supermoon was too powerful.

They fell through the glass roof, shards spraying out around them. He didn't notice them, didn't feel fear at the possibility of them falling to their deaths. All he wanted was Scott dead and Hayden alive. It was all for nothing though; she was no longer with them. They survived the fall. He threw Scott across the room, but he didn't fight back, not just because he didn't want to hurt him, but because he didn't have the strength to. However, Liam wasn't in control of the rational part of his brain that night. He lost control.

He saw the moment Scott turned from human to Alpha werewolf. He saw it but he didn't back down. He knew it was wrong. He was fighting his _Alpha,_ but he didn't care. He noticed Scott's lips moving, but he couldn't hear anything he was saying. He knew they were lies. He couldn't see reason.

"I want to kill you," Liam growled out. Scott still didn't fight back. Not really. Not enough to hurt him, because that's who he was. He felt Scott's arms wind around him from behind, trying to keep him in place, in an almost careful, intimate manner, but he forced him back, watched him fall down the stairs. He felt nothing.

* * *

He saw black. "Liam!" He could hear the sounds of his claws ripping into him, flesh tearing at his fingertips. It rang out into the air, a hundred times louder with his werewolf hearing, in the otherwise-silent library. He could hear his own breaths, ragged and quick, pushing past his fangs and into the night air. He didn't hear Scott's. They were too broken, too quiet, too weak. He couldn't see anything. It's like his brain had erased the memory. It was too painful. The sight of his Alpha lying unresponsive on the library's floor, claw marks dug deep into his chest, put there by _him._

"Liam!" The voice was frantic. It took him several long moments to register it over the sound of the soft, slow beats of his Alpha's dying heart. "Liam!" It sounded devastated. Desperate. Full of panic.

"Liam!"

Liam awoke with a gasp. He jolted up in a panic, looking around the room before his eyes landed on his father. He was looking at him with mild annoyance, a trivial stare that made Liam want to laugh; it was so _normal._ But why was he looking at him like that? "Are you still in bed? You're gonna be late for school at this rate. Didn't you hear me yelling? I'm gonna be late for work." He then promptly left and Liam was left to sit in bed alone, dazed and still half asleep. He felt repulsed. He'd tried to kill Scott. He wanted to take it back. He wished he'd never laid a finger on him that night.

"Now, Liam!" he heard his dad call. He groaned, glancing over at the clock. His eyes widened at the time and he flung himself out of bed in a rush, stumbling over the bed covers on his way to the bathroom. He was gonna be late! As he reached the bathroom, he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and the unshed tears that had clung to his eyes when he'd first woken up from his nightmare. He scoffed at his reflection. He was 16 years old and still having nightmares? He knew why though. It was New Years Day and another supermoon was due that night. He was scared that he would lose control again, hurt someone in the pack, or worse: an innocent human who was blissfully unaware of the supernatural world that he lived in. He couldn't allow himself to do that. He had to stay away from the pack today. He could already feel his skin crawling with the strength of the moon and it was only 7 o'clock in the morning.

* * *

Perfect! This was just the most perfect way to start school on a Monday morning. He was late to school. No, he was late to a surprise _test_ at school. And the day only got worse as he had _detention._ His eyes were red raw and he could barely keep them open for longer than 2 seconds before feeling a strong urge to just close them and go to sleep right then and there in the middle of the hallway. The only thing keeping him awake was his enhanced hearing which flared up at random moments and almost startled him to death. The bell rang for his next lesson and he cringed, quickly stuffing all his folders into his locker before grabbing what he needed and hurrying to lesson.

He spent the whole day avoiding the pack in the hallways, at lunch, and even during lessons, so he was exhausted by the time he reached the locker rooms to get ready for lacrosse practice. He'd avoided detention as Coach had argued with his teacher about how he needed him for lacrosse more than they needed him for an "after school bonding session." He paused in front of the locker room door. His claws – which came out uncontrollably – were digging into his palms. He didn't want his friends to see him like this. And he definitely didn't want to hurt them. They would never forgive him. He only had so many chances…

"Liam!" He spun around only to see Malia and Mason coming towards him. He quickly entered the room and Scott spotted him immediately. He moved forward to talk to him as Mason and – not surprisingly – Malia entered in the door behind him. Liam didn't have a chance to escape them as he was too busy cringing and squeezing his eyes shut at the loud noises and bright lights that filled the room. The strong scent of sweat made his nose wrinkle and they hadn't even begun playing yet.

"Hey," Scott smiled, though Liam missed it. "We were wondering if you'd like to stay over to mine tonight. The whole pack will be there," he asked Liam, looking down at him as he was sat on a bench. He felt small, the pack surrounding him like the big predators they were.

"Why? So you can keep an eye on me?" Liam replied.

"Ye," Malia answered, ignoring the eyes of the team as they wondered what a girl was doing in their changing room.

"No," Scott said, glaring at his friend. "We're all – well, mostly all – going to be feeling the effects of the supermoon and I thought it would be a good idea to spend it together to… distract ourselves and just… have fun."

"I have plans." Mason furrowed his brows at Liam's answer. He knew his dad was working the night shift that night and his mother was visiting family for the new year out of town. Liam had told him so only yesterday.

"Are you sure?" Scott asked. He'd been listening to his heartbeat. Liam was so preoccupied with coming up with an excuse while trying to drown out the echoing of the locker doors in his ears that he'd forgotten that Scott was like a living lie detector. "It's not safe to be alone."

There was a tension in their corner of the room that you could cut with a knife. Stiles shifted uncomfortably, going to lean on a locker and nearly falling over when the door swung shut with a loud clang. Liam growled lowly at the noise. He refused to meet their eyes. He just wanted to be alone. He felt overwhelmed, stuffed into a corner and trapped there like a fly caught in a web or a… werewolf caught in a hunter's trap. He shuddered. What if he transformed tonight and was seen by a hunter?

"We're just looking out for you," Corey tried to reassure him as he joined the group, but that just made him angrier. They all thought he wasn't strong enough to stay in control. They all thought he needed to be babied.

Scott heard Liam's heart rate accelerate and felt helpless to do anything to make his Beta feel better. He moved to put a comforting hand on his shoulder but Liam's head shot up and he gave him a hard stare. "I don't need you to baby me! You guys all think I'm just gonna lose control and- and _maul_ someone to death or something!"

"Well..." Stiles began. He _was_ technically losing controlling at that moment by exploding at them. Scott just stared at Liam in shock and confusion.

"Just leave me alone," Liam growled out, before he stormed out to the field. Mason looked down and sighed, noticing several claw marks engraved into the wooden bench Liam had just been sat on. He looked at Corey who looked back at him, worry clear in his eyes. Liam was losing control.

"Malia!" Coach shouted behind Stiles, who jumped and proceeded to produce a very high-pitched scream. Scott rose his eyebrows at him and Stiles looked at anything but his friends.

"You're not a male."

"Very observant, Coach," Stiles joked, going to pat Coach on the shoulder, but then thought he better not. Coach ignored him.

"Either you're transitioning into a male – which is completely fine, by the way – or you're heading out that door right there," he said, pointing to the exit. "That goes for you too, Matthew. I don't remember putting you on the team."

"It's Mason, Coach," Stiles interjected.

"Bilinski! Don't argue with me or you're off the team!" Stiles shut up after that and trudged towards the field, pulling Scott with him.

Malia groaned and turned towards the exit with Mason after he hugged Corey goodbye. They'd have to leave Scott and Stiles to deal with Liam.

* * *

Out on the field, the biting winter wind was distracting Liam from the ball of hot anger that was twisting his insides. He tried to focus all of his attention on the game that was playing out in front of him. He took deep breaths to keep himself in control. He didn't notice how he was shivering from the cold and from the tense energy in his veins.

Suddenly, the cold triggered something inside of him. He found himself back on the library roof. His heart-rate stuttered and began to race and his eyes shone a fiery gold. He stood up straight, looking around in confusion. His breath puffed out in front of him, crisp and white. One second he was all alone, the next a hand grabbed his arm and he turned his head sharply to see Scott. But he wasn't dressed in the same clothes that he was wearing that dreadful night; he was in his lacrosse uniform. The field stuttered back to life and the roof disappeared. He blinked in confusion. The field was quiet. Everyone was staring. Scott moved in front of him.

"Your eyes." Liam blinked, ducking his head and taking deep breaths. After a few tense seconds, his eyes returned to their usual sea-bluecolour. Scott's hand was still secured onto his arm. Was he worried that he would wolf out that much that he had to keep him at arm's length? He had everything under control! At least that was what he tried to tell himself. Stiles appeared beside Scott, brows furrowed and a look of… disappointment in his eyes. Liam shrugged out of Scott's grip weakly, but he let him go. He made his way back to the locker room without a word, heard Coach shouting behind him to get his act together and get back on the field, but he didn't listen. He had to get out of there. He quickly grabbed his stuff from his locker before promptly leaving the building.

* * *

After practice, the pack (minus Liam) all met up with Lydia at the school's entrance. "So, is he coming?" she asked. She was met with a tense silence and 5 grimacing faces. "I take it that's a no."

"He wanted to be alone," Scott replied. Lydia saw through his calm exterior though. She knew he was worried about his Beta and disappointed that he didn't want to spend the night with his pack. Scott wondered if Liam had always felt that way, like being with the pack was a chore and that he really just wanted to be left alone. He felt guilty all of a sudden. Was he forcing Liam to be a part of their pack? He shook his head. He couldn't doubt Liam's loyalty and friendship like that. They were pack but they were also _family._

"Let's just go, ye?" Malia asked, heading towards Stiles' jeep. Scott sighed at her reaction. She was angry. She didn't understand, but Scott did. Liam was angry, but he was also insecure and frustrated at the lack of trust in their pack.

"He's angry at us," Malia continued. "He's so gonna lose control tonight." Stiles appeared to agree with her.

"Malia," Scott reprimanded, eyes momentarily flashing red. "You're thinking _exactly_ how Liam said you would. How he said we _all_ would. He thinks we don't trust him. He thinks _we_ think he's going to lose control tonight, but pack night was not _about_ that! It's not about keeping an eye on each other because we're scared of what we'll all do. We can't doubt each other. We just have to be there for each other… or he might actually lose control. And not because he's weak," he added the last part for Malia's sake. "But because we weren't there for him."

"So what's the plan?" Lydia asked determinedly. Scott smiled.

* * *

Liam was home alone that night, which was probably for the best he thought as he curled up in bed, worried that he would wolf out any minute. He could feel the moon's rays at his back, prickling his skin and trying to claw the wolf out of him. He didn't dare move, not even to get up and close the curtains. The light of the moon was intense and insufferable but it was also soothing and he just _want_ _ed_ to let go and be free but he knew that he couldn't risk it. Not tonight. He couldn't hurt anybody. Not again. He forced his wolf down, ignoring its whines to be let out. He knew he was torturing himself. He could transform if he wanted to and knew he could stay sane through it, but he didn't want to take that risk tonight. Yet his control was slipping. His wolf's growl was on the tip of his tongue and he could feel a tingle at his fingertips were his claws came out.

He hugged himself and tried to hide away into the darkness under his bed covers, but he heard a knock at the door that made him freeze. His hearing was still going crazy so he could hear several heartbeats and a voice telling him to "hurry up and open the door before they froze their tits off." Stiles. The pack was here. But why? He felt like screaming. Maybe if he ignored them, they would just go away. But then he heard a key in the lock. _Mason._ He cursed under his breath and leapt from the bed like it had just burst into flames.

Liam made his way downstairs to an extremely weird but just overall _normal_ sight. He didn't know how to feel at the sight. Stiles had his head stuck in the fridge in the kitchen and was whining about how Liam had no food. "I wasn't expecting company," was Liam's reply. Mason and Corey were making hot chocolate though most of the cocoa powder was already all over their clothes and in their hair. Malia and Lydia had their arms piled high with movies and bags of popcorn and Scott was still stood by the door, the only one polite enough to wait for Liam to actually invite him in. No one mentioned his earlier outburst.

"We felt bad having pack night without you and Mason told us that your parents were out so we thought we'd bring pack night to you," Scott said before Liam could ask.

"Stiles! You know we have popcorn, right?" Lydia shouted through to Stiles as she began to make her way upstairs to Liam's room.

"Ye, but what about the nachos and the hot dogs and the- the-"

"Don't be so greedy!" Mason laughed at him. Stiles pouted.

"We have hot chocolate though, so that's a plus," Corey grinned at him, trying to cheer him up. Stiles sighed dramatically but grabbed a cup before heading upstairs. He gave Liam a pat on the back as he passed. Liam gave a faint smile before turning back to Scott.

"We're not here to keep an eye on you. We're here to be your friends. We're all feeling the effects of the moon tonight. Even me. We're just trying to have fun. Would you like to join or do you want to stay down here alone? You'll miss out on Stiles' amazing commentary on all the movies we watch," Scott joked, nudging Liam as if to say missing that opportunity would be a regret he would carry with him for the rest of his life.

"You sure you want me to join you?" Liam asked. He felt ashamed about his outburst earlier and how he'd avoided them all day but Scott didn't need to hear an apology from him.

"No, we just came round your house cuz you have the best TV," Corey joked. Mason stared at his boyfriend in surprise before laughing. Liam laughed too. He then did the unexpected and hugged Scott. His wolf felt content curled up in his Alpha's arms, but he blushed and pulled away a few seconds later, looking down at the floor. Scott didn't allow him to feel embarrassed though.

"I'm proud of you, Liam. You're stronger than you know," Scott whispered, before pushing him towards the stairs, laughing along the way. Liam felt a warmth fill his belly. Scott was proud of him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Mason and Corey joined the rest of the pack upstairs, bringing a tray of hot chocolate with them along the way. "Ooo, marshmallows!" Stiles exclaimed, reaching for the bag excitedly. He put that many in his cup that it nearly overflowed all over him.

"What are we watching?" Corey asked after he squeezed onto Liam's already-packed bed and got under the covers.

"Star Wars."

"The Notebook."

Lydia and Stiles answered at the same time. Stiles turned to give Lydia an accusing stare but backed down quickly when he saw her raise her eyebrows at him. The other boys all groaned at the prospect of watching The Notebook too and Lydia huffed at how unenthusiastic they all were at the prospect.

"Star Wars it is," Stiles giggled to himself.

* * *

Halfway through the second movie, Scott noticed Liam looking at the moon through a gap in the curtains."Are you okay?" Scott whispered.

"Ye," Liam whispered back, snapping out of his trance to give Scott a little smile. The truth was, he felt like his veins were on fire and he'd been digging his claws into the palms of his hands for the past 10 minutes to try and stay calm. "I'm sorry about earlier." He still felt guilty about how he behaved earlier, in front of everyone.

"It's okay. We're here for you. That's what pack is for," Scott reassured him, his eyes briefly turning red. Liam smiled, his eyes flashing gold in response. Liam snuggled further under the covers, squished between Scott and Lydia.

Suddenly, a thud was heard as Stiles fell out of the bed. "Ooow!" Everyone laughed at him. Typical Stiles. But he wouldn't have him any other way. He wouldn't change any of them for the world.

* * *

 _Bit of a cheesy ending but I hope it made you smile. Comments would be lovely. Thanks._


End file.
